An Allergy Test Was Worth Every Penny

So I’m sure you already know this, but food isn’t supposed to make you feel bad. Sure, certain things might cause discomfort in some form or fashion. But it’s not normal to have stomach issues, feel strange, itch, etc.

Growing up, peanuts and potatoes were staples of my diet. A lot of the time I wouldn’t feel great, but always figured it was the meat or something that made me feel bad. Sometimes it was minor, other times it was just awful.

Fast forward to my freshman year in college when I broke out in hives thanks to all the new trees I was surrounded by on campus.

In an effort to try to figure out what was wrong with me I had my first allergy test. I was tested for over 100 allergies, both food and indoor/outdoor elements.

Not only was I allergic to dust, mold and everything outside (aren’t we all?) but also peanuts and potatoes. With the severity of peanut allergies, I dropped that one immediately. For potatoes, they told me to cut the out of my diet for two weeks, then eat them like crazy. Boy did I feel terrible when I added them back. There was no doubt it was a real allergy. It took a while but I phased them out.

That was 12 years ago.

I know I’ve accidentally ate peanuts before and nothing major happened, but over the last few years, I’ve begun to wonder if I was still allergic. I also would get nervous about other nuts and wanted to know if I was allergic to anything else. So voluntarily, I wanted to take another test. I heard they could perform allergy tests with pricks all at once from a machine, but this time was the same. One at a time. I went through and picked which ones I wanted, and then he recommended a few others.

It was incredibly fascinating to me that I was no longer allergic to potatoes. Still allergic to peanuts, and also almonds, oranges, shrimp and garlic.

Oddly enough, all of those made sense in their own way. Most just cause stomach issues and the garlic makes my hands itchy. I thought it was a preservative that was making my hands itchy. I’d say this is fairly new reaction, maybe over the last couple years.

That one will be impossible to avoid. And it doesn’t always cause a reaction. The allergist said if I could incorporate some of these things into my diet a couple times a week, symptoms will stay low. I’m done though with almonds, oranges and shrimp. But the garlic is tough to avoid. Garlic is in everything. I’ve been avoiding things that say “garlic” on their label, but if it’s buried in something’s ingredients, I’ll eat it.

The allergist also had me get an Epi-Pen too just for precautions.

Discovering what I’m allergic to now, and not allergic to, has been fascinating. It reminded me that food isn’t supposed to make you feel bad. I’d just grown to accept some of the symptoms I had with my new list of allergies. And it was worth every penny and bit of discomfort that I spent on that allergy test to discover that.

If you notice you don’t feel well after eating something, food allergies have a variety of symptoms. I’m thankful that *knock on wood* I don’t have any allergies that would cause me to go into anaphylactic shock. I suppose it’s a possibility, and I feel better having an Epi-Pen, but it isn’t anything I am concerned about.

So. When you notice you feel differently after eating, know that it is not normal to feel bad. Allergies come in a variety of forms, not just swelling.

If you wonder about something, I recommend getting tested. It is eye-opening and extremely beneficial.

Also, if you are allergic to something you eat often, you will be surprised how easy it is to give something up when it’s the source of what makes you feel bad. As for me, I’m glad I can eat potatoes again. It’s worth the trade-off. I have missed French fries so much. Those things are flipping delicious.